Roger Stoll(2019-05-16). Nicaragua: The War of 2018.dissidentvoice.orgNearly all US regime-change wars (Venezuela, Syria, Honduras, Ukraine, Libya, Yugoslavia, etc.) are wars of deception, fabrication, propaganda, coups and false flags. Sometimes there is a direct US military assault, more often not. These wars are waged by proxies, media puppets, hired hit-men, torturers, rapists, vandals, saboteurs, death squads and criminal gangs, through mock or …

Democracy Now!(2019-05-16). "Inside Syria's Secret Prisons": A Harrowing Account of How Assad's Torture Machine Crushed Dissent.democracynow.org A shocking exposé by the New York Times looks at how Bashar al-Assad's government has jailed and tortured tens of thousands of Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 128,000 people have disappeared. They are presumed to be either dead or still in custody. The group estimates almost 14,000 individuals have died under torture. The detentions are continuing even as the fighting winds down. More than 5,600 Syrians were reportedly arbitrarily detained last year in a 25 percent jump from the previous year. While the Syrian government has denied running a secre…

Staff(2019-05-16). How Assad's Torture Machine Crushed Dissent in Syria.truthout.orgA shocking exposé by the New York Times looks at how Bashar al-Assad's government has jailed and tortured tens of thousands of Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 128,000 people have disappeared. They are presumed to be either dead or still in custody. The group estimates almost 14,000 individuals have died under torture. The detentions are continuing even as the fighting winds down. More than 5,600 Syrians were reportedly arbitrarily detained last year in a 25 percent jump from the previous year. While the Syrian government has denied runni…

unitedEditor(2019-05-16). Libya, a second Syria?uwidata.comThe recent crisis in Libya has resulted in over 500 casualties, and a huge number of people being displaced, leaving the country essentially divided into two parts. The role of foreign countries is extremely critical to the current developments in Libya… countries whose selfish support of domestic groups has led to, and exacerbated the current …

Steve Sweeney(2019-05-16). Iranian Communists rally progressive forces to prevent war.peoplesworld.org Iranian Communists have called for unity among the country's progressives striving for peace in response to U.S. saber-rattling intent on provoking war with Tehran. The Tudeh Party noted "a very worrying rise of tensions between the racist, pseudo-fascist, and reactionary Trump administration and the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran" in recent days. It …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky(2019-05-16). Towards a Culture of World Peace.globalresearch.ca"Towards a Culture of World Peace" constitutes a commitment to Human Livelihood. It consists in confronting the UU-NATO discourse in support of war and military intervention. It requires reviving a Worldwide anti-war movement, nationally and internationally as well as establishing a resolve by the governments of sovereign nation states to reject this Worldwide process of militarization.

Valerie Vande Panne(2019-05-16). The battle for rights of nature heats up in the Great Lakes.nationofchange.orgThis article was produced by Local Peace Economy, a project | of the Independent Media Institute. | In February, the voters of Toledo, Ohio, passed a ballot initiative that gives Lake Erie and those who rely on the lake's ecosystem a bill of rights. The idea is to protect and preserve the ecosystem so that the life that depends on it — humans included — can have access to safe, fresh drinking water. | On the surface, it seems pretty logical: Humans need water to survive, and if an ecosystem that is relied on for water — in this case, Lake Erie — is polluted (in this case, with algae), t…

Fight Back(2019-05-16). Meeting with Venezuela's President Maduro.fightbacknews.orgFight Back! interviews noted anti-war activist Sarah Martin, of the Minnesota-based Women Against Military Madness. Martin traveled to Venezuela on a solidarity delegation organized by the U.S. Peace Council, March 11-18. | Fight Back!: The corporate media says Venezuela's government, headed by President Maduro and the national democratic Bolivarian Revolution, has little popular support. What were your impressions? | Sarah Martin: This is one of the many lies told by the media, who once again are spewing the U.S. administration's propaganda for a U.S.-orchestrated coup. Maduro is a democratically elected preside…

Robert Reich(2019-05-16). Robert Reich: Democrats Have a Duty to Impeach Trump.truthdig.comDonald Trump is causing a constitutional crisis with his blanket refusal to respond to any subpoenas. | So what happens now? An impeachment inquiry in the House won't send him packing before election day 2020 because Senate Republicans won't convict him of impeachment. | So the practical political question is whether a House impeachment inquiry helps send him packing after election day. That seems unlikely. | Probably no more than a relative handful of Americans are still unsure of how they'll vote on Nov. 3, 2020. An impeachment is unlikely to reveal so many more revolting details about Trump that these swing vo…

Robert Reich(2019-05-16). Robert Reich: The House now has a Constitutional duty to impeach Trump.nationofchange.orgDonald Trump is causing a constitutional crisis with his blanket refusal to respond to any subpoenas. | So | what happens now? An impeachment inquiry in the House won't send him | packing before election day 2020 because Senate Republicans won't | convict him of impeachment. | So the practical political question is | whether a House impeachment inquiry helps send him packing after | election day. That seems unlikely. | Probably no more than a | relative handful of Americans are still unsure of how they'll vote on | Nov. 3, 2020. An impeachment is unlikely to reveal so many more | revolting details about Trump…

Alexandra Jacobo(2019-05-16). 'Worst-of-its-kind:' Alabama abortion ban could punish providers with 99 years in prison.nationofchange.orgThe Alabama Senate passed legislation this week that will outlaw abortion and punish women and doctors. The "total ban on abortion" is being called the worse-of-its-kind and pro-choice groups warn that it is a "blatant effort to overturn Roe v. Wade." | "What I'm trying to do here is get this case in front of the Supreme Court so Roe v. Wade can be overturned," says Alabama state Rep. Terri Collins (R). Republican lawmakers hope that advocacy groups fight back against Alabama's ban so that the Supreme Court will take up the lawsuit and the conservative justices who are currently the majority will eliminate the…

Maj. Danny Sjursen(2019-05-16). Where Is the Democratic Alternative to Forever War?truthdig.comThere sure are lots to choose from. By now, more than 20 candidates have announced a run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. And with national security adviser John "Regime Change" Bolton, along with the others in the four Bs cabal—Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates—seem poised to pull President Trump into war with Iran, now would seem the time for D…

Staff(2019-05-16). Watch Elizabeth Warren Grill Trump's Top Bank Regulator.truthdig.comSen. Elizabeth Warren made clear Wednesday that she has no sympathy for one of the Trump administration's top bank regulators after he called a tough line of questioning on Wells Fargo "insulting." | "Good," responded Warren, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, after Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) chief Joseph Otting objected to the Massachusetts senator's criticism of the Trump administration's bank-friendly regulatory practices and lack of transparency. | The Massachusetts senator pushed Otting on his plan to keep secret the Trump administration's assessment of the successor to former Wel…

Staff(2019-05-16). New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Enters Race for 2020 Democratic Nomination.truthout.orgNew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has thrown his hat into the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. | "There's plenty of money in this world. There's plenty of money in this country. It's just in the wrong hands," de Blasio says at the beginning of a campaign announcement video he posted Thursday to YouTube. The spot proceeds to list his progressive accomplishments as New York City mayor, including raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour; passing a bill ensuring that workers would receive paid sick leave; guaranteeing health care, including mental health; and providing free pre-K for all New York…

Allison Deger(2019-05-15). Trump peace plan shrinks Palestine, expands Israel.peoplesworld.org A leaked document of "main points" from the Trump administration's so-called "deal of the century" was published last week by Yisrael Hayom, outlining a plan for a two-state solution that includes the creation of a demilitarized state of "New Palestine," Israeli annexation of all settlements in the West Bank, a land deal with Egypt, and shared capitals …

Kenneth Surin(2019-05-15). Israel/America or Netanyahu/Trump?counterpunch.org The late Uri Avnery (1923-2018), the doughty Israeli seeker of peace with the Palestinian people, posted almost weekly on CounterPunch.Avnery was savvy enough to know that the Zionist failure to achieve peace with the Palestinians meant that Israel could never be a "normal" state, no matter how much it pretended, hypocritically, to be a "democracy" adhering to "Western values". More

Democracy Now!(2019-05-15). Alabama Passes Near Total Ban on Abortion as Part of "Stealth Campaign" to Overturn Roe v. Wade.democracynow.org Alabama lawmakers voted to effectively ban abortion Tuesday, passing the most restrictive anti-choice law in the country in a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. The bill approved by the Senate Tuesday and the Alabama House last month bans abortions at all phases. Doctors could face up to 99 years in prison for performing abortions. The bill's only exception is grave risk to the mother's life — not cases of rape and incest. The legislation is now heading to the desk of anti-choice Republican Governor Kay Ivey, and many expect she'll sign it. Opponents say they'll challenge the bill in court should it become la…

Staff(2019-05-15). Social Justice Activist Named Winner in Contentious Union Election.therealnews.com This story has been updated. | In a stunning victory, teacher and longtime social justice activist Diamonté Brown defeated incumbent Baltimore Teachers Union President Marietta English by a vote of 901-839, according to preliminary election results. "I thank everyone that voted for me and I promise to work every day to engage more members and take action based on members' concerns and needs," Brown said. | The election is the latest chapter in a wave of grassroots-powered challengers overcoming veteran officeholders, such as New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's defeat of 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley…

Fight Back(2019-05-15). On Duterte's success in rigging the elections.fightbacknews.orgFight Back News Service is circulating the following May 14 statement by Jose Maria Sison, National Democratic Front of the Philippines Chief Political Consultant. | As I have predicted, Duterte is successful in rigging the May 13 elections to deliver to his candidates a false victory in the crucial senatorial race. As I have pointed out, he has to rig the elections because he has the power and the criminal personality and motivation to do so because clean and honest elections would have allowed the opposition senatorial candidates to win and frustrate his greed for power and plunder. | The rigging included the d…